Home → Treatment & Side Effects → Planning Your Treatment → Ask-the-Expert Conferences: Treatment Issues → May 2008: After Surgery: Short-term and Long-term Effects → Weight limit for carrying things after surgery?

Weight limit for carrying things after surgery?

Page last modified on: August 21, 2008

Question from Rickey: You're told not to carry your purse, packages, etc. on your surgery side. How long can you not carry anything? Or is there a weight limit?: Answers —Kristin Brill, M.D., F.A.C.S.: Immediately post-operatively, one should take precautions to allow the incision to heal without incident and not disrupt any incision or drain. But longer-term, this should not be a restriction.; Linda Miller, P.T.: There's never been any research that looks at specific weight limits or weight restrictions. Often times these numbers have been picked randomly or from anecdotal reports. As I've stressed several times before in tonight's talk, there's no reason why women cannot go back and use their limb as normally and as functionally as needed. The key would be to return to any of these activities gradually. Long-term activity restriction is not supported in any lymphedema research.

On Wednesday, May 21, 2008, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called After Surgery: Short-term and Long-term Effects. Kristin Brill, M.D., F.A.C.S. and Linda Miller, P.T. answered your questions about short-term and long-term side effects of breast surgery, and what you can do about them.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

A production of LiveWorld, Inc.
Copyright 2008. All rights reserved.

Email Updates

Stay informed about current research, online events, and more.

Visit our Gift Shop!

Shop Now »

Meet the Experts

Kristin Brill, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a breast surgeon and clinical instructor at the Thomas Jefferson University Department of Surgery in Philadelphia, PA. She also maintains a practice in Cherry Hill, N.J. Dr. Brill is a fellow of the American College of Surgeons. In addition, she has published breast cancer research in medical journals such as Annals of Plastic Surgery and Cancer, and she has presented research at the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Linda Miller, P.T. is the clinical director of the Breast Cancer Physical Therapy Center, LTD, a private practice serving the Philadelphia, PA and southern New Jersey areas. Linda specializes in treating post-operative complications of breast cancer surgery, including lymphedema.